


Cleanse

by wynnebat



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 6, Gen, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Love Potion/Spell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-31
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-10-13 10:36:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10512018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wynnebat/pseuds/wynnebat
Summary: Hermione getsreallysuspicious of the Half-Blood Prince.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Because it's been too long since I've written a love potion fic. The usual character bashing warning on the side of the evil love potioners. 
> 
> Written for the prompt lint over on [The Workshop](http://www.roughtrade.org/the-workshop/).

"Why are we doing this again?" Ron groaned, half into the desk where his face was pressed onto his charms textbook. He and Hermione and Harry had been stuck in the abandoned classroom for most of the day, even skipping dinner. Or rather, he and Harry were stuck—Hermione was brewing a potion as avidly as she had the Polyjuice Potion in their second year. Harry and Ron had been allowed to stir the potion when Hermione's hands cramped, but that was the most of their involvement.

He'd tried to leave—hex him, it was boring, alright? and Ron had never had the best attention span—but Hermione had started going on about how he obviously didn't care about his friend at all. And then Ron had tried to get Harry to go with him, to prove he cared, but that had ended up with them getting in a bigger argument while Harry grabbed a Quidditch book. In the end, Ron had stayed. It wasn't like he had anything better to do anyway. Sure, there was always exploding snap with Dean and Seamus, but it wasn't the same as being with his best friends.

Even if his friends were sometimes crazy. Hermione had gotten it into her head that the potions textbook had cast some sort of spell over Harry. She'd decided to fight potions with potions, and found an old book with a potion that would strip everything except the most deeply entrenched spellwork from a person. If the Half-Blood Prince had done something to Harry, they'd know immediately.

"Because Hermione likes to torture us," Harry muttered from next to him. Harry's transfigured pillow was still functional, because he was a prat, while Ron's had turned back into his textbook a while back. He was too lazy to try again; and honestly, his pillow had mostly felt like a textbook anyway.

"Because Hermione cares about your well-being," Hermione said, gesturing at him with a potions ladle. The image reminded him of his mother, which, ew. In moments like these, Ron honestly couldn't remember why he had such a big crush on Hermione. He'd follow her to the ends of the earth because she was his best friend, but she was _really_ intense. "I've made a batch big enough for all three of us, too. Even if there's no active spells on us, the book says it can still do some good to clear magical energy that's gotten stuck to you over time."

"Like magical lint," Ron said, nodding sagely.

Harry couldn't hold in his snort, while Hermione just huffed at them.

"Yes, very much like magical lint. I heard this potion was popular even fifty years ago, but its use has waned considerably in the present day. So it should be safe, as long as I've made it correctly."

"You're the best in the class," Ron said. "Of course you've made it correctly." He very carefully didn't say that technically, due to some great new cheating skills, it was Harry who was best in the sixth year potions class.

Harry shot him a thankful grin and mouthed, "Thanks, mate."

Ron had no idea why Hermione was so crazy about cheating; honestly, between the three of them, they'd probably broken all the rules on the Hogwarts books. He was considering asking Harry if he wanted to renew their paper airplane flying contest—Harry was better at keeping them up, but Ron's definitely had more style—when Hermione said, "It's done!"

She poured a part of the potion into a vial and blew on it. It transformed from a dark blue color to a clearer mixture that in the right light could probably be mistaken for water. Harry and Ron scrambled up from their seats and came over to Hermione.

"I'm taking it first," Ron said, before either of them got any ideas. He plucked the vial out of Hermione's fingers, ignoring her immediate protests.

"I brewed it, I can—"

"Hermione, I trust you more than anyone in the world—"

"Hey," interjected Harry.

"—including Harry because he can be an idiot with his saving people thing. This potion's probably perfect. But if it's not, with You-Know-Who back and everything, the world's too dangerous for you to have a lie down in the hospital wing for a month if something goes wrong. You're better than me at keeping Harry safe."

Hermione's lips pursed. "I don't like it when you get all logical."

"And calculating," Harry said. "You're not a knight on a chess board."

Ron shrugged. "I'm _your_ knight. You're my best friends. Besides, there's nothing wrong with this potion." Probably, anyway. "Bottoms up!"

Despite the fact that he knew potions were deceiving, he'd thought it might go down like water, too. But the potion felt sharp, and there was no taste at all to cover the feeling of it going down his throat. He was almost ready to tell Hermione that something was wrong when the potion turned a soothing kind of cold in his throat. The sensation traveled through his body and when Ron looked down at his skin, he saw a dark vapor begin to rise out from him, swirling, dissipating.

"That's the sign of it getting rid of something," Hermione said, needlessly, nervously. "Ron? Do you feel different? The potion should be giving you some kind of hint of what it was."

The potion was giving him a huge, jarring hint, Ron realized as he looked over at Hermione. He'd developed this huge, raging crush on his friend months ago, and with the sudden clarity of mind, he realized it was gone. It wasn't a good sign. Especially since it went deeper than that—and there weren't many people who cared who he was interested in, outside of his family. _Fuck_.

Staring into Harry and Hermione's concerned eyes, Ron said, "So, have I mentioned I'm completely gay? Surprise. You two really need to take this potion… I don't think I'm the only one whose head's been messed with."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Complete; no sequel planned.


End file.
